As we turn the pages back to the early 19th century, we find a young America, brimming with pioneers and settlers, nestled in the promising embrace of the “Era of Good Feelings.” Following the War of 1812 it was a period characterized by political harmony, a time when factional and party divisions dissolved into the background, painting a canvas of national unity and cooperative spirit.

However, beneath this surface of shared purpose and mutual aspirations, a transformation was quietly brewing. A wave of change that would wash over these tranquil waters and carve out a new landscape of passion, division, and untethered dreams.

It was the dawning of the “Era of the Common Man.” A phase where every farmer, blacksmith, and tailor beheld in the mirror not just a face marred by the toils of the day, but a potential actor on the stage of national destiny. The intoxicating aroma of opportunity, freed from the clutches of elitist hands, was now diffusing through every village, town, and burgeoning city.

In the year 1828, a sea of young pioneers stood on the brink of this seismic shift. A political landscape once dominated by the well-heeled and educated elite was now rippling with the energies of the common folk. Voices, once muted, were gathering volume; hands, once tied, were now reaching out, ready to grasp the reins of their own fate.

And it is here, amidst the charged air of change and boundless horizons of opportunity, where our story finds its heartbeat. Journey with us through an excerpt from A Profitable Wife that plunges you into a time where hope was a tangible commodity, and dreams, as expansive as the uncharted lands to the West, danced unbridled in every American soul…

Martin Van Buren scanned the sea of eager faces in rural New York. They were obviously very receptive to his message. This scene had been repeated over and over again in all the outlying townships, as well as the more populated cities. Jackson’s electoral team had crafted a simple message of hope and dreams fulfilled. It proclaimed the destiny of any hardworking man was to be rewarded with the riches of the new western lands, and Jackson was just the man to make it happen.

Nodding faces in the crowd wholeheartedly agreed with the narrative Van Buren painted: the struggle between the few and the many. A greedy minority of wealth and privilege sought to exploit the common man relentlessly. This struggle lay behind the major problems of the day and was supported by the opposition and current president, John Quincy Adams. General Jackson, on the other hand, had proven himself among the common man by fighting alongside them as brothers against both the Natives and the British. Now that foreign threats no longer loomed, economic barriers and the wealthy became the enemy.

Jackson was the hero of the day who would side with the common man against the old Federalist elites. All Americans deserved a right to the rich rewards and freedoms so hard won by their fathers and grandfathers. Jackson would deliver them. He promised to open up rich lands to the west for homesteading to those brave enough to try. Jackson would send his armies to clear out any remaining unconquered populations that resisted their dreams, including any French, Spanish, or British foreign claims, as well as any protesting Native tribes. Lands as far as the eye could see or a wagon could travel would belong to colonial Americans, and no one else, from here on out, if Jackson were in charge.

The message ignited a fire in people’s souls, sparking dreams that had never before been realized by the common man. Resounding cheers and excitement spread across the country like a blazing forest fire. The nomadic thirst of their European forefathers now focused on the new lands to the west. It was their Manifest Destiny…

William Conklin numbered among the many in the cheering crowd, absorbing the Jackson campaign promises. Grinning from ear to ear, he heard all his dreams and even some he hadn’t considered being articulated in words. As he scanned the crowd, he spotted his brother Jacob with Easter and Harriet Hackley on either side of him, eagerly participating in the rally–clapping their hands and nodding their heads. He quickly made his way towards them, positioning himself next to Easter and leaving Jacob with Harriet. Easter rewarded him with that sweet flirty smile of hers. Jacob glanced at him with irritation. William was certain Easter preferred him over his brother and probably most men in Herkimer. On this spirited occasion, given the friendship between their fathers, there would likely be an invitation from Philo for dinner to discuss the rally. This would certainly suit William’s plans. He had layers of plans, made even more exciting by Jackson’s promises, and was determined that Easter was the perfect choice to play a part in them.

Take a step back in time, immerse yourself in the euphoria of promise, and witness the genesis of an era where the common man was anything but common. Welcome to a story woven with the threads of ambition, challenge, and the undying quest for a destiny manifest under the stretching skies of early America.

Christensen’s novel, ‘A Profitable Wife,’ is now available on Amazon and other online book retailers.